The Mortal and the Vampiress
by Master-Magician
Summary: Serana didn't dare take her eyes from this mortal, but she could smell the blood in the air. His certainly had a powerful scent, but there was something else in the room with them. Vampire blood, and a lot of it. Too much for its owner to still be among the living dead. More than a little of that scent was coming from the man in who's arms Serana now stood.


**After doing a lot of thinking, I figured out what my problem with writing for Skyrim was. I was trying to do it all as a single multi-chapter story. That was my first mistake. When I wrote for Fallout 4, I did it using a series of slightly interconnected one-shots. Much like snapshots of my playthrough and important/between events.**

 **For readers of Guardian- I have decided to abandon Guardian completely. I will instead be writing one-shots like this one. Now the chapters of Guardian I have finished thus far will be broken up into their own one-shots or otherwise erased/changed. This particular chapter is a mashup of chapters one and two. Once I get around to getting its current chapters split up and uploaded, I'll be deleting Guardian from the website.**

 **For everyone else- This model of storytelling worked wonders over in Fallout, so I'm hoping it will be well received here on Skyrim. Leave some reviews so I know I do have readers.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Before going into hibernation in the tomb, Serana had entertained all sorts of possibilities. The 'never waking up' scenario had certainly been up there, but the vampiress did her best to not dwell on it.

One of the highest likely occurrences would be for her to be awoken by her fellow vampires. As for what would follow that… none but the gods could say. It all really depended on the state of her father. Would he feel rage upon finding his wayward daughter? Would he feel relief for the same reason? Perhaps, Harkon would even be long dead, but that one Serana had severe doubts over.

There was the chance however, of her tomb being stumbled across by some treasure hunter or adventurer. It would be unlikely, but possible. It would take an oblivion of a lot of coincidence for that to happen.

Naturally, that was exactly what had to happen.

As the lid of the sarcophagus slid away, Serana awoke. With nothing left before her to hold her body inside, Serana fell forward. It would have been an unpleasant face-to-face chat with the stone floor, had a pair of arms not caught her mid-fall.

"W… who sent you?" Serana manages to choke out, her throat drier than the deserts of Elesweir. The entire world was spinning, if it hadn't been for this stranger holding her up, Serana would have collapsed instantly.

"Um… a man named Isran." It was neither a voice nor a name Serana recognized. Not a good sign at all.

"I… don't know who that is." Serana's limbs felt heavier than steel. Weak as though she was, Serana was able to marshal enough strength to lift her head. "Is he… like me?"

Looking up at her rescuer, Serana was able to make only a single observation at first. It was a man, that was all the physical details she could tell, and the voice alone told her that. Almost his every feature was obscured by a hood and facemask. Even with the light hovering nearby, what little face was uncovered still resided in shadow.

"Are you a…" The man, as that was all Serana could tell about him, stopped his words short when his gaze met hers.

While Serana's senses were dulled from her sleep, they were quickly coming back into focus. Such as her hearing and vision in the dark.

With the return of these things, Serana quickly made two discoveries. Firstly, Serana could hear the thump of a heartbeat in the stranger's chest. Beneath the hood, a pair of dark blue eyes stared back down at her.

Not a vampire then, and he didn't know who or what she was.

"A vampire, yes." Serana spoke the words without thinking. Even before the look of shock registered on the man's face, alarm bells were ringing in Serana's head. Both man and vampire seemed to be too startled by their own realizations to do much but stand there and stare at each other.

Serana didn't dare take her eyes from this mortal, but she could smell the blood in the air. His certainly had a powerful scent, but there was something else in the room with them. Vampire blood, and a lot of it. Too much for its owner to still be among the living dead. More than a little of that scent was coming from the man in who's arms Serana now stood.

It was just Serana's luck, she finally gets woken up, and her savior is a vampire hunter. Her strength was returning but slowly. If this mortal wanted to kill her, she may not be able to stop him.

"The Dawnguard would want me to kill you." The mortal sighed.

That was the last straw. Serana wasn't about to just stand here and be cut down like some rabid dog. It she was fortunate, the mortal was weakened by the other vampires he slew. Serana might have only a fraction of her strength back, but she wasn't about to make her death easy.

Using every bit of the power she'd regained, Serana roughly shoved the mortal away. In retrospect, not the wisest course of action. The moment Serana lost the support of the man's arms, she fell to the floor. At the same time, the mortal stumbled back several steps. He would have recovered swiftly, had his foot not caught the stray remains of a skeleton. Serana may have fell almost on her face, but the mortal fell flat on his back.

Serana had woefully underestimated herself. The best she was able to manage was sitting up on her knees. Every attempt to rise would result in her falling back down once more.

The mortal was already back on his feet, sword in hand and pointed in Serana's direction.

"Just try it." Serana growled, dagger drawn and ice spike prepared in her off hand.

The mortal advanced, but stopped well out of reach of his own sword. The tip was pointed at the vampiress, but was too far off to do anything with.

"What are you waiting for?" Serana did her best to look intimidating, she hissed and barred her fangs. All to distract from her own fear and terror. There was no way she could win a fight against this vampire hunter, not in her state.

"Hmm…" The mortal was still looking at Serana, but his expressions were unreadable with all his coverings.

If he was going to kill her, why was he hesitating?

"Interesting."

"What?" Of all the things for the mortal to say, 'interesting' was not one of the ones Serana expected.

"You."

"What about me?" Maybe if Serana could keep him distracted, she might recover enough to at least make a run for it. The sharp stab of pain in her stomach reminded Serana she was weak from more than having just awoken.

"What's your name?" The mortal ignored Serana's previous question.

"Serana." Keep the vampire hunter talking, it was Serana's only chance.

The mortal continued to look upon Serana with that unreadable countenance. Then, to Serana's utter bewilderment, he sheathed his blade. Whatever his reasons were, Serana decided to dismiss her charged ice spike. The dagger remained in her hand though.

As if Serana could grow anymore surprised, the mortal stepped closer and offered her a hand. "I'm Hastrel."

Completely perplexed, and unsure what to do, Serana took the offered hand with her own. The mortal, Hastrel, pulled the vampiress to her feet. This time, her knees didn't buckle and she remained standing.

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

Hastrel said nothing at first, but Serana did notice how his eye darted to the dagger in her hand. "Nope."

Was Hastrel mentally addled? He had a vampire completely at his mercy, weak and unable to properly defend herself. Serana would have been easy prey, as loathe as she was to admit it.

'Why not?" Serana did her best to hide her surprise, but was failing.

"You're the first vampire I've ever met that didn't just attack me on sight. It's all your blood is already mine and I'll drink you dry mortal, over and over again." Hastrel grumbled. "I'm about sick of it. Seeing as how you haven't attacked me yet, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

Serana almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Maybe Hastrel wasn't some vampire hunter.

"Besides, you might know a way out of here." Hastrel looked around, Serana almost couldn't believe it that he was willing to take his eyes off her for even a moment. "The door I came in closed behind me."

"Your guess is as good as mine, this place looks pretty different from what I remember." Serana sheathed the dagger at her hip.

"Terrific." Hastrel shook his head before his eyes snapped onto Serana, or rather at something behind her. "Is that an elder scroll?"

"Yes." Serana had almost forgotten about the priceless relic strapped to her back. "And it's mine." If Hastrel wanted to take it, he very well could. Not that Serana would just let him.

"Ugh…" Serana could hear the scowl in Hastrel's voice as the man held up both hands in a hands-off gesture. "You can keep the damn thing. I want no part of anything on it."

An ancient treasure, worth more than most of Skyrim and more, and this mortal doesn't want it in the slightest. Hastrel must be insane, or something like it.

"You coming?" Serana shook her head to clear it, and found Hastrel nearby motioning for her to follow. "Can't go back, so we'll have to head this way, and hope there's another exit."

At a loss what to do, Serana followed.

In the hour it took the duo to make their way to the exit, Serana realized just how badly outmatched she was by Hastrel. Not only that, Hastrel didn't need his sword to fight if he wished.

Their first obstacle was a pair of gargoyles that attempted to ambush them. Hastrel blew one to oblivion with bolts of lightning, the second managed to get in a few swipes of its claws before Hastrel's sword cut it down as well. Serana was able to contribute with a few ice spikes, but she was still weak and couldn't manage much.

Next came draugr and skeletons. It was almost terrifying watching Hastrel fight, the man was a brutal whirlwind of sword blows and electricity. Serana did what she could with ice spikes and her own lightning, but the vampiress could tell it wasn't necessary.

Besides, the fighting was helping to keep Serana distracted. When she wasn't, she was able to smell just how delicious her impromptu companion was. More than once, to Serana's own shame, the vampiress found herself licking her lips just imagining how he would taste.

It wouldn't be a problem to get just a little taste… it would be Hastrel's own fault for letting a vampire walk at his back. The man seemed to have quick reflexes, but surely she could pounce on him and bite before he reacted. The mortal was fast, not strong. If Serana could just get a hold of him, even with his shock magic, she would finally be able to drink that delectable...

"Stop." Serana groaned, clutching her midsection, as another lance of pain shot through her stomach. The hunger was growing unbearable, but she couldn't feed on Hastrel. She wanted to, oh how she badly wanted to, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Hastrel actually trusted her, a complete stranger and vampire no less. Far as Serana could tell, the man didn't care in the slightest she was a vampire. Which was… odd, to say the least. Serana could tell she had been asleep for a long time, but even in her time vampires were not looked upon nicely. 'Blood sucking monster' were a favorite insult.

Thus far, Hastrel trusted her enough to not kill her on the spot, but who knows what was going to happen when they left the cavern?

* * *

"Ah, so good to breathe again." Serana took in a deep breath of the cool mountain air. Being a vampire, she didn't actually have to breathe, but it was still refreshing compared to that dank ancient cave.

Serana was in luck, it was still daytime, but cloudy. Regardless, she pulled her hood up over her head. Might not be sunny, but better safe than sorry in case she ran into anyone less tolerant than Hastrel.

"Yup, another day of beautiful Skyrim weather." Hastrel quipped from Serana's side. The vampiress almost had to do a double take, she had been seconds from saying something similar.

"Probably going to rain soon." Serana sighed. Not like the water would actually bother her, more of an annoyance really.

"All the more reason to get a move on." Hastrel turned to face Serana. "I believe this is where we part ways, Serana. Nice meeting you."

"Yeah, you too." Serana watched the man walk away, and only then did her situation sink in.

Hastrel made five steps, before twirling around on one heel to look at Serana again. He must have been alerted when Serana didn't move from the spot. "You have no idea where you are, do you?"

"I… do not." Serana admitted with slumped shoulders. For all Serana knew, she wasn't even in Skyrim anymore. Every direction held the same thing, snow and more snow.

Hastrel pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "I'd offer you my map, but uh…" Hastrel pulled a rolled-up sheet from his belt and held it up. It was maybe readable at point, but had been torn beyond recognition. "One of your vampire friends got a lucky hit in. I need to get a new one."

"So, you don't know where we are either?"

"Actually no, Dawnstar is that way on the coast." Hastrel pointed. "How about this, I'll take you there and we'll find a new map, and see where we are from there? I was headed that way anyway."

"Deal." Serana smiled. Not like she had much choice in the matter, but quiet as he had been, Hastrel had proved to be somewhat pleasant company, for a vampire hunter.

Even if Serana had to try hard to force down the compulsion to feed on him. It was his own fault! No mortal had the right to smell this… appetizing.

"No." Serana growled under her breath, willing away the urge to just attack Hastrel. There was no telling how long her willpower was going to last. If they got lucky, maybe they could find some bandits or something on the way to Dawnstar.

"You okay?" Serana couldn't tell if that was concern, or curiosity in Hastrel's voice. His face was still obscured by that stupid facemask. All Serana could see of his face was his eyes and forehead, both of which gave the vampiress zero clues.

"Fine." Serana answered, a little too quickly. "Let's just get going."

Hastrel stared at Serana for a long moment before shrugging. "Okay, this way."

Good fortune gave Serana cloudy weather, but life balanced it out by not giving a single bandit or even a traveler on the road to Dawnstar. Hastrel must not have much experience with vampires, he didn't notice she wasn't supposed to look this pale or be this wobbly on her feet.

The pain in her stomach was growing even more intense with every step they made into the coastal town. Hastrel may smell particularly good, but so many people in close proximity to a starving vampire… it was a recipe for disaster.

Hastrel didn't even seem to notice. Either he was stupid, or had faith he could take her down if she snapped. A tiny part of Serana's mind brought up the idea that maybe Hastrel simply didn't care whether she dropped dead on the spot or went berserk. He did seem to have a certain… cold edge. As if he just didn't care.

Serana was focusing her mind so much in resisting the hunger, she barely registered where Hastrel was leading her. The man could have led the vampire literally off a cliff and she would have followed.

"Something to eat. And any rooms open for the night?" Hastrel's voice broke Serana from her trance. It was then that she noticed they were at the local inn, standing before the main counter.

"Many sailors are in, only one available." The innkeeper answered.

"We'll take it." Hastrel reached for his coin pouch but the innkeeper's next words made him freeze.

"Wait, I've heard that voice before."

"You must have me confused with…" Serana could see just how tense Hastrel had become. He wasn't reaching for his sword, but something was definitely wrong.

"No." The innkeeper gasped. "It is you! You're the D…"

The innkeeper was silenced by Hastrel's palm slamming down hard on the counter. The place was lively and loud, so nobody noticed save Serana, Hastrel, and the innkeeper himself. Hastrel's hand slid across the wooden surface with a scraping sound.

"You can keep it for the room." Hastrel slowly leaned forward, every word from his lips dripping with malice. "But I was never here."

Peeking around Hastrel to see the commotion, Serana saw Hastrel's hand pull away to reveal a gleaming emerald gemstone. The innkeeper's eyes opened wider than saucers at the sight.

When the innkeeper went to take the item, Hastrel's hand clamped down on his wrist. "I was never here, got it?"

"Y… yes. Understood, this way to your room." The innkeeper babbled, whether from fear or excitement was anyone's guess.

Once more, Serana followed Hastrel to their room. She might be physically there, but her mind was far off. Was Hastrel somebody famous? That had never occurred to her in the slightest. The innkeeper seemed excited to meet him, not afraid. It also helped explain why Hastrel covered all his features, even while inside the warm inn.

'If you need anything…" The innkeeper hovered near the doorway.

"Yeah, yeah, just remember what I told you." Hastrel waved the man off.

"You were never here, understood sir." With that, the innkeeper left them to the room.

"That was awfully generous of you, I wonder how many rooms that stone could have bought." Serana threw her hood back while dropping into the first place to sit she found. Which happened to be the bed.

"Probably quite a few." Hastrel pulled his satchel over his head and set it on the table. "I always keep a few to shut people up, you'd be amazed how many I find here and there."

"Didn't realize I was walking around with a celebrity." Serana smirked, changing position so that her back was against the wall. By the blood, she couldn't remember the last time she felt this exhausted.

Hastrel sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it. Look, I have to go run some errands. You stay here until I get back, and we can talk about where you need to go."

"I'm not a child you can boss around." Serana snapped.

"No, but you know nothing of our location, and the people here would happily kill you the moment they know what you are. And you're not looking so hot, better get some rest." Hastrel was out the door before Serana could respond.

Not like Serana would have had a good comeback anyway. Hastrel was completely right, although apparently didn't know why she looked ill.

Now that Hastrel was away, Serana was able to calm herself down a little. Being in Hastrel's presence was like dangling a feast in front of a starving man. With him gone, and the door to all those other sources of fresh blood closed, it was a little easier to block the hunger out.

Then again… Serana could probably sneak out and find some unsuspecting victim to feed on. It would be pretty easy… and she could finally sate her thirst even for a little while.

No, no no no. Bad idea, a very bad idea. Last thing Serana needed was to anger all of Dawnstar. She'd have an angry mob with pitchforks and torches, and the works, after her hide. Then Hastrel would have to kill her, and that was one fight Serana absolutely didn't want to start.

Rubbing her temples, Serana let her mind drift. How long had she been asleep? What happened between her mother and father during her hibernation? Was her home even there anymore?

What would Serana even do if Castle Volkihar wasn't there anymore? Surely it couldn't have been so long it was no longer standing. There was always that possibility though. But Serana could not allow herself to think that right now.

How long had Hastrel been gone? It felt like he had left a minute ago, but here he was, coming back into the room and again closing the door behind him.

"Catch." Good thing Serana's reflexes were only partially dulled, otherwise she would have been smacked in the face by whatever Hastrel tossed at her.

A waterskin, why in oblivion was Hastrel giving her a watersk…

The scent is what caught Serana's attention first. A similar one to what had been hounding her every step since she'd been awoken from that tomb. Never had it been so powerful. The smell of it so close was the last straw her body could take.

Serana's willpower finally snapped completely. She ripped the cap off to guzzle the contents.

"Wait!" Hastrel called, but Serana ignored him.

The instant the blood touched her tongue, Serana felt the urge to vomit. This stuff was well and truly foul, but she was oh so thirsty. It may have tasted absolutely disgusting, but blood was blood. Serana was in no position to be picky. Far too soon for her liking, Serana had drained the entire thing. She held it up, trying to drain every last little bit, even running her tongue around the rim to take in every remaining drop.

"Uh… here." Hastrel held a rag out for Serana. Too late Serana realized that in her primal starvation borne haste, she'd smeared more than a little blood all over her lips and chin.

Taking the offered cloth, Serana was deeply grateful that she couldn't physically blush from embarrassment. But just because her body didn't show it, didn't mean she didn't feel it. What little she couldn't get with her tongue, Serana wiped up with the rag.

"I was about to warn you, that wasn't human blood, but I guess you were hungrier than I thought." Hastrel had retaken his seat at the table. "Sorry for the wait, had to find a horker outside town."

Hastrel's words threw Serana for a loop. "Wait… so you actually went out and got me dinner?"

"Of course, I'm getting a meal for the night from the shoddy inn food. What, you think I'd just let you go hungry? Feh." Hastrel waved a hand. "Too be honest, I bet human is a lot better for vampires, but I didn't know where to get that, so you got stuck with horker."

"I…" Serana was completely speechless. This man, whom Serana had known for just a couple hours, had gone out and gotten her blood just so she'd have something to eat. She hadn't asked him to do it or anything, Hastrel just did it. Not only that, he hadn't asked for a single thing in return yet. If Serana's heart was still beating, it would have skipped a few. "Thank you."

No way in oblivion was Hastrel a vampire hunter, he couldn't be. Sure, Serana could understand if he'd poisoned the blood with something, but he hadn't. She would have noticed by now if he did.

"Not a problem, how long were you in there anyway? I knew you had to be hungry, but you might have been worse than I thought." Hastrel questioned, but his voice was different. It was no longer muffled, as if he wasn't wearing…

Hastrel had removed his hood and facemask!

At some point, probably while Serana was drinking, Hastrel had taken his hood off and pulled the facemask down to beneath his chin. The man looked... normal.

Serana hadn't been sure what to expect when, or if, she ever saw Hastrel's face. After the incident with the innkeeper, she had deduced he most likely wanted to conceal his identity. Not only that, Serana wondered if he didn't have a bunch of horrible disfiguring scars he was hiding.

As it turned out, Hastrel didn't have a single mark on him that Serana could see. He might be a little one the pale side, for a mortal, but there was nothing special about him. Hastrel looked like just another man on the street. Even his hair, long but cut short to keep from his eyes, was unremarkable.

It was his eyes themselves that enraptured Serana, even more so now that the rest of his face was in view. Hastrel was fairly young, perhaps early to mid-thirties. But those eyes, they spoke of someone far older, whom had seen too much. There was an exhaustion in them that for some reason, brought sorrow to Serana's unbeating heart.

"It's a long story… if you want to know more, you can take me to my family home." Serana mentally kicked herself. This may be a bad idea, but somebody from this time period on the road would be helpful. Plus, she still didn't know where she was.

"And where would your family home be?" "And where would your family home be?"

"It used to be on an island north of Solitude, it should still be there." Serana admitted.

"Well you're in luck, we're not that far off." Hastrel waved the woman over to the table as he unrolled what Serana assumed was a new map.

Feeling much better than she was a minute ago, Serana made her way over to examine the image of Skyrim. Some of what she saw remained the same, such as Solitude and Winterhold, but quite a bit did not. Even as she looked over the map, Hastrel was filling in notes and spots with a piece of charcoal. No doubt replacing some notes from his former destroyed map.

"We are here." Hastrel used the charcoal to indicate Dawnstar. "Where is your family home?"

"There." Serana pointed to the spot in the ocean past Solitude.

"Huh, I didn't think there was anything there." It was true, according to the map, there was nothing but open water. Serana tried not to let that idea gnaw at her. "Then again, I've never been to that area. Sure it's still there?"

"I am." Serana didn't say why she was so certain, but she doubted a castle would disappear, even in all the time she was asleep in that crypt. At the very least, she might find some clues to her family if ruins were all that was left.

That seemed enough for Hastrel. "Alright, we'll stay here for the night. In the morning we might be able to get a ship to take us along the coast to Solitude docks. From there, we hike along the coast until we get there."

"Sounds like a plan." Serana allowed herself to smile. She was going home, even if she was worried about what was waiting in said home. Father or mother, and if either was still there, they could have changed in innumerable ways. Serana wouldn't know until she got there.

"Indeed. So." Hastrel clapped his hands together. "Who sleeps where?"

"What?" Serana for the first time, took in her surroundings beyond Hastrel. Their room had been the only one available, so it was pretty sparse.

With only one small bed.

"I'm just joking." The side of Hastrel's mouth actually turned up slightly in a tiny grin, the first one Serana had seen on the man. "You take the bed, I'll be sleeping in the chair here."

"You don't have to…"

"Nah, no buts." Hastrel shook his head. "I once spent half a night hanging upside down in a tree, so believe me when I say I've slept in worse places. Besides, you've been asleep in a coffin for divines know how long. You get the bed." At the look from Serana, Hastrel added. "Long story. Just remember, check twice for traps, not once."

Serana rolled her eyes and flopped back onto the furs.

There was something about this mortal that made Serana think. Just what was she getting into by traveling with him?

* * *

 **More one-shots will follow once I get a bit more time to break up Guardian. After that, I'll be doing even more but from scratch. Leave a review and let me know what you all think.**


End file.
